More $ for VA

2 years ago

(Cronkite - Aubree Abril) -- WASHINGTON -- A tentative House and Senate agreement on a multibillion-dollar plan to help the ailing Department of Veterans Affairs health-care system included $20.7 million for a community-based outpatient clinic in Phoenix.

The clinic was one of 27 specific projects, worth more than $200 million, included in the agreement unveiled by congressional negotiators Monday. That deal calls for $17 billion in new spending over 10 years to make it easier for vets to get care both inside and outside the VA system, but would still be less expensive than separate bills passed by the House and Senate, negotiators said.